[OT] Official Books -|- Literature Thread

shahbakht said:

Awesome, man.

1984 is just too damn good and I loved Pride and Prejudice as well, even though that is the only book from Jane Austen I have read.

The Great Gatsby, not a fan, but it is a classic and definitely worth a read.

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Thanks man, I really appreciate it

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I loved Shafak's The Bastard of Istanbul and Forty Rules of Love is one of my all time favorite books. She has deep passion for Istanbul and it is apparent in her work. Another thing that she has passion for is history and sufism, themes that are also quite important in her work. While the previous two books that I mentioned had two amazing female protagonists, The Architect's Apprentice is of a different sort: a historical fiction set in the 16th century and seen through the eyes of a man.

Shafak traverses the history of Istanbul in quick flashes, interacting these moments with the life of a young man with a shady past named Jahan, who is an elephant tamer, a thief, an architect's apprentice. He sees his life tide away with time and with people who left their mark on history.

This is probably my least favorite Shafak book, of the three I have read so far. She does pour her heart into weaving a beautiful tapestry of 16th Century Istanbul and the various groups of people who had lived in the city at the time. It used to be a sort of center of the world, connecting East with West. That has always been the identity of Istanbul. What this book lacks is narrative thrust. I would not go so far as to say it is boring, but that is is definitely dry. There are moments of grandiose punctuating the deliberate story, but they are few and far between. Shafak infuses elements of life at the time, the history, flashes of religious strife, etc, but by and large the book seems far more interested in the going ons in the life of a protagonist who is not very interesting to begin with. He is surrounded with far more interesting things, but they are barely there.

So, this was definitely a bit of a let down and a slow read. Not to fret, on to the next one.

shahbakht said:

I loved Shafak's The Bastard of Istanbul and Forty Rules of Love is one of my all time favorite movies. She has deep passion for Istanbul and it is apparent in her work. Another thing that she has passion for is history and sufism, themes that are also quite important in her work. While the previous two books that I mentioned that two amazing female protagonists, The Architect's Apprentice is of a different sort: a historical fiction set in the 16th century and seen through the eyes of a man.

Shafak traverses the history of Istanbul in quick flashes, interacting these moments with the life of a young man with a shady past named Jahan, who is an elephant tamer, a thief, an architect's apprentice. He sees his life tide away with time and with people who left their mark on history.

This is probably my least favorite Shafak book. She does pour her heart into weaving a beautiful tapestry of 16th Century Istanbul and the various groups of people who had lived in the city at the time. It used to be a sort of center of the world, connecting East with West. That has always been the identity of Istanbul. What this book lacks is narrative thrust. I would not go so far as to say it is boring, but that is is definitely dry. There are moments of grandiose punctuating the deliberate story, but they are few and far between. Shafak infuses elements of life at the time, the history, flashes of religious strife, etc, but by and large the book seems far more interested in the going ons in the life of a protagonist who is not very interesting to begin with. He is surrounded with far more interesting things, but they are barely there.

So, this was definitely a bit of a let down and a slow read. Not to fret, on to the next one.

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Would you recommend getting Forty Rules of Love? I saw it being displayed at a book fair today.

Jester said:

Would you recommend getting Forty Rules of Love? I saw it being displayed at a book fair today.

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Oh definitely

Recent purchases:

shahbakht said:

Oh definitely

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Sadly I was too late. Shame because the cover looked pretty neat.

Jester said:

Recent purchases:

Sadly I was too late. Shame because the cover looked pretty neat.

Spoiler: show

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Can't see the cover, bro, repost.

To-read list.

What should I go for next?

Jester said:

Recent purchases:

Sadly I was too late. Shame because the cover looked pretty neat.

Spoiler: show

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Very nice purchases, man. 4 out of 5 are absolute gems. Not a fan of Gatsby as I have previously stated, but it is indeed a classic, no denying that! Catch 22 is a dynamite book and 1984 is too chilling. Love both of them.

And you are right, that is a good cover of Forty Rules of Love.

shahbakht said:

Very nice purchases, man. 4 out of 5 are absolute gems. Not a fan of Gatsby as I have previously stated, but it is indeed a classic, no denying that! Catch 22 is a dynamite book and 1984 is too chilling. Love both of them.

And you are right, that is a good cover of Forty Rules of Love.

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Thanks!

About Gatsby, I have a personal inclination towards early 40's western culture, especially the second wave of jazz. So the book ended up being a no-brainer for me.

That's a really terrible cover, I know, but we all have to decide how much sin we can live with.

Sorry, wrong reference.

"I would die for you. But I won't live for you."

I loved the movie. I saw it when I was in the third year of university and even though the characters were in high school, I still related the shit out of it. That's where the strength of this book lies: it is invariably relatable, poignant, touching, light and hilarious at various points. The gimmick of staging the whole novel as a series of one sided letters is interesting. There are a lot of unanswered questions there, but soon you forget. You are captivated by the characters, the deep honesty of this book. You can dismiss it initially as "white people first world problems", but the point is empathy is important, but undermining your own pain is just another way of not dealing with it.

Charlie, the protagonist, at various points comes off as aloof and out of touch, but there are moments of great pathos that you really feel for him. He is surrounded by some tremendous characters such as Patrick and Sam. Highly quotable, I recommend this book to all!

People in Pakistan read?

I am currently reading How to talk about Games by Ian Bogost. Imagine game reviews were written by someone who could write. This is that book.

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muddi900 said:

People in Pakistan read?

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Damn, low blow, bruh, low blow.

Wow, wow, wow.

This was insane. I am blown away. I have never read something this funny my entire life, without a doubt. Although I know that I am at least 10 years off from when I SHOULD have read it, it still made me have bowls of laughter. Weird, inventive, ground breaking, most importantly fun.

Filled with plenty of characters that are just as weird as the premise. Douglas Adams is one mad genius.

I am intrigued to watch the movie AND read the rest of the series.

For all of you writers out there, those who want to pursue this craft but never had the formal education or chance.

Try this MOOC:

https://www.coursera.org/specializations/creative-writing

I fucking love MOOCs.

Learning what you want to learn has never been easier.

You can even apply for Financial Aid and get certified without pay. Because if you are a student and you aren't earning, then you are eligible. Also if you are earning but you feel that the extra course amount, almost PKR 10000, is going to burden your living expenses, you can apply.

Absolutely love this shit!

It was one of those books I had a strong inclination to finish in a day when I started reading it and delved into it, full steam ahead. I did try my best but life got in the way. The story was beautifully framed and the setting was what got to me. I am not sure when it started (maybe American Beauty, maybe Wonder Boys) but I always had some strange fascination with suburbia and dissection of the so-called civilized society. The tacit and unwritten rule that everything was ok and happy, and everybody is friends with everybody else, the gleam of perfection manifested in the form of a constructed, put upon, dare I say, fake, happiness, perfect nuclear families with busy moms and successful dads; a house of cards ready to be demolished by just a little tremor.

Liane Moriarty did that amazingly well. The central conceit is that of a murder mystery but it would be a shame to reduce this novel to that one single genre or trait. This is a commentary on our social mores, the way we bring up our children and how often the masks and facades of civility that we wear start to peel off at just one small fissure, a scratch on the perfectly glazed surface we have decided to present to the world. There is always a tipping point, there is always a moment when you bend something so far that it doesn’t go back the way it was before. People are the same. There is so much one can take.

Back to the book: Little Big Lies has three amazing protagonists, each vividly drawn with really interesting arcs. At some point, I emphasized with all of these characters. Making someone like me who cannot be more far away from the world depicted in the book, see the plight of white privileged suburban moms is no easy feat. It is the beauty of Moriarty’s storytelling prowess.

Madeline, Celeste and Jane are three women, three mothers, bogged down by their personal upheavals and the troubling proceedings at their children’s school. The lies, the rumors, the bitterness, the jealousies, all get their due. The innocuous and seemingly harmless whispers start a war, played in the playgrounds of school, Parent-Teacher conferences and Trivia Nights.

I had already decided to read this book when I heard that HBO was going to make a miniseries out of it. This piqued my interest because I love miniseries and I am always excited to see an adaptation of something I have already read. Now, after having actually read this, I am so glad that this is a miniseries and not a movie because there are many subplots and threads that need time and detail to foster. It could be told only in a serial format. And so far the casting has been spot on. Reese Witherspoon as Madeline (imagine her role in Election) and Shailene Woodley as Jane (personally I would have like Analeigh Tipton). The role I am most happy about is Nicole Kidman as Celeste. Oh, she is going to do wonders with this character. She is already such a talented and established actress (though, I have had my misgivings about her in the past: Grace of Monaco, anyone?!) that I am sure she would have no trouble kicking this out of the park. Laura Dern as Renata: no need for me to elaborate on that. She is Laura Dern. She is going to be amazing in it.

This is without a doubt one of the most elaborately framed and clever books I have read in some time: biting, smart, and strangely funny in some ways, a must read!

To read list

crazyhassan said:

New collection

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How is the "To Kill a mocking bird" ?

shahzadfootball said:

How is the "To Kill a mocking bird" ?

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Haven't read it yet

Going to village for 2 3 months, will be reading alot of books, if you guys have any recommendations feel free to post here thank you

Any genre

Since my last post I've read the following and would like suggestions on what to go for next.

Kartography @Blastwave It's hard to find words to describe this book at 6am (just finished it). Thank you.
Forty Rules of Love @shahbakht Loved it. Thank you
Elon Musk
$100 Startup
Abundance of Katherines
Confessions of an Economic Hitman.

Please exclude 1984, Catch 22 and Mockingbird from your suggestions as I already have them but dont feel like picking them up right now.